Sir Reginald More Bray (26 September 1842 – 22 March 1923) was an English High Court judge.

Biography

Reginald More Bray was the elder son and heir of Reginald Bray, JP, FSA, of

Shere Shere is a village in the Guildford district of Surrey, England east south-east of Guildford and west of Dorking, centrally bypassed by the A25. It is a small still partly agricultural village chiefly set in the wooded 'Vale of Holmesdale' b ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, and of Frances Bray, ''

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

'' Longman, of the publishing family. The Bray family was one of the oldest in England, being able to trace its descent from the time of the Conquest. The manor of Shere, whose

lordship A lordship is a territory held by a lord. It was a landed estate that served as the lowest administrative and judicial unit in rural areas. It originated as a unit under the feudal system during the Middle Ages. In a lordship, the functions of econ ...

Bray inherited from his father, was first granted to Sir Reginald Bray by Henry VII and has been in the family ever since. Among his ancestors were

Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VIII as Lord ...

, in whose honour he received his middle name, while his paternal grandmother was a sister of the political economist the Rev Thomas Malthus. A man with strong local connections, Bray was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey in 1902. After attending

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

, Bray went up to

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

as a

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

, graduating as twelfth wrangler 1865. A

pupil The pupil is a black hole located in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to strike the retina.Cassin, B. and Solomon, S. (1990) ''Dictionary of Eye Terminology''. Gainesville, Florida: Triad Publishing Company. It appears black ...

of Wakin Williams, he was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1868. He then joined the South-Eastern Circuit, and for several years ' devilled for J. P. Murphy QC. He built a "substantial, if not a commanding" common law practice, He became

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

and a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher can ...

of the Inner Temple in 1891, and a

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1897, after an unusually long time at the junior bar. In his last year at the bar, he won, in quick succession, three cases in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

after losing in the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

, which was said to have played a role in his rapid promotion to the bench from the time he

took silk In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. In 1904, on the resignation of Mr Justice Bruce, he was appointed a Justice of the High Court (

King's Bench Division The King's Bench Division (or Queen's Bench Division when the monarch is female) of the High Court of Justice deals with a wide range of common law cases and has supervisory responsibility over certain lower courts. It hears appeals on point ...

) on the recommendation of

Lord Halsbury Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, and received the customary knighthood. Despite his late appointment, Bray was regarded as one of the ablest

puisne judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

s. He frequently sat in divisional courts and as the third judge in the Court of Appeal. Having become ill in court, Bray died in

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, on 23 March 1923, and was buried at Shere.

Family

Bray married Emily Octavia Barclay, daughter of Arthur Kett Barclay, FRS, in 1888; they had four sons and four daughters. One son, Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Edmond Bray, KC, was chairman of the Board of Referees. Another, Captain Sir Jocelyn Bray, was chairman of the

Thames Conservancy Board The Thames Conservancy (formally the Conservators of the River Thames) was a body responsible for the management of the that river in England. It was founded in 1857 to replace the jurisdiction of the City of London up to Staines. Nine years la ...

from 1938 to 1960. His younger brother, Sir Edward Bray, was a County Court judge.

Selected cases

As a barrister

* ''Caterham Urban District Council v Godstone Rural District Council''

904 __NOTOC__ Year 904 (Roman numerals, CMIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * July 29 – Sack of Thessalonica (904), Sack of Thessalo ...

AC 171 * ''

Colls v Home and Colonial Stores ''Colls v Home and Colonial Stores'' 904UKHL 1 is an English tort law case concerning the entitlement to daylight where a right to light exists. Facts Home and Colonial Stores owned land at 44 Worship Street, Shoreditch, London EC2. They pro ...

AC 179 * ''Winans v Attorney-General''

AC 287

As a judge

* ''Reeve v Jennings''

910 Year 910 ( CMX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. __NOTOC__ Events By place Europe * June 12 – Battle of Augsburg: The Hungarians defeat the East Frankish army under ...

2 KB 522 * ''Sanday & Co v British and Foreign Marine Insurance Co''

915 Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays s ...

2 KB 781

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bray, Reginald Queen's Bench Division judges 1842 births 1923 deaths People from Surrey People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple English King's Counsel 19th-century King's Counsel 20th-century King's Counsel English landowners Lords of the Manor Knights Bachelor Deputy Lieutenants of Surrey